Yes, I'm finally back! What a year it's been. IMPORTANT A/N at the bottom.

Disclaimer: Not mine

Epilogue: Seven years later

BPOV

I was going to feel sick.

Fuck.

This isn't going to be good.

My legs trembled as I got closer and closer to the stage. Sometimes I just wished my last name was something like…something like aardvark. Ha. Don't snort, Bella, your parents are watching you, possibly filming this right now for their non-existent grand-children.

"Swan, Isabella!"

Thank fuck.

I made my way to the stage and tried not to think about the audience. I needed to concentrate on walking. Yes, this was something I had battled for my entire life, this gift of clumsiness. Edward always said that – oh, wait – I needed to concentrate on not falling flat on my face before shaking the dean's hand. That's right, in about two seconds, I am about to receive my certificate of MBA.

"Congratulations, Isabella," Dr Molina murmured, surely tired of the seemingly everlasting roll of students' names that he had to repeat after.

"Thank you," I managed to stutter. Way to go, Bella! Speaking, shaking hands and walking all at the same time!

I heard someone whistle as my made my way down the stage. I flushed as I caught Edward flash me a dazzling grin from the corner of my eye.

I would be lying if I said that it had been a blissfully easy seven years. Edward and I had gone through ups and downs in our relationship. Just before graduating from high school, I was all set to go to UDub and we were all waiting for Edward's acceptance to come. I knew that he had applied to the Ivies, but Charlie could never afford something like that, even if it was for education. Money was tight in the Swans' house. Not the Cullens', and I knew that. So Edward ended up having to choose between Dartmouth, UCLA, Stanford and UDub. I remembered him telling me one night that he ridiculously decided that UDub had the best pre-med program but I called him out. I knew that when he was doing all those extra hours of studying in order to get the maximum amount of college credit, UDub was definitely not on his mind. I knew that the most worn pages in the college guide were the one regarding Stanford.

So I told him to go and follow his dream. Stupid boy, he told me he wanted to follow his heart. The fight we had was the biggest ever in all five years. Yeah, five years. Because we broke up that night.

One day, when I was working at the coffee shop near my dorm with my friend Angela, I caught a flash of bronze hair and dazzling white teeth and when I looked up, I could feel my heart start to beat again. It was Edward. And Alice, Rose, Em, and Jazz all didn't bother mentioning this to me. Edward didn't just magically turn up at the most random coffee shop in a college. No one does that.

Anyway, he smiled and I was just fucking gone. I couldn't keep my eye off him when I was making his coffee and I ended up spilling it all over me. It hurt badly and I hastily threw a helpless look at Angela, who laughed and took the counter. As I was cleaning myself up with a napkin, I felt someone close behind me. Edward.

"Are you hurting, Bella?" His concerned gaze washed over my face and I couldn't help but flush deeply again.

I nodded.

He handed me a damp, cold napkin. "Here, this might help."

And that was all the talking that was needed. We were always two peas in a pod and getting back together didn't require much encouragement from Alice.

And now here we were. Or I am at least, as I looked around the crowded area outside the building.

"Congrats, Bells," Ben grinned at me, his arm around Angela.

"Thanks," I said, but my eyes were busy scanning for any sign of bronze.

"Looking for Edward?" Angela teased.

I scowled. Was it that obvious? "Shut up," I growled at her.

I suddenly sensed someone standing behind me and I spun around, almost taking a face plant on the ground.

"Whoa there!"

"Edward!" I gasped as I looked into his mesmerizing green eyes.

He let out a chuckle and leaned his face down, capturing my lips with his. I leaned into him, loving the warmth of his embrace, snaking my arms around him and letting my fingers twist in his hair. Like a thousand times before, the crowd around us disappeared.

"Aw, aren't they cute?" I heard Angela squeal, breaking my bubble. Ugh, seriously, Ang? Not right now. Please.

I groaned into Edward's mouth as he loosened his tight hold on me.

"Later, baby," he breathed into my neck before pressing a kiss to my forehead. "I promise."

My insides turned to jelly whenever he pulled that trick out of the bag. Edward and his promises. I loved them, it made me weak, and the smug bastard knew it.

"I'm glad you made it," I stuttered, squeezing his hand tightly in mine. "It means a lot."

He smiled at me. "I wouldn't have missed it for the world, baby. I'm so proud of you, my beautiful girl."

My insides were turning to mush again. God, he was so perfect. Why couldn't think of something like that to say? And I was the one with an M.A. in Literature. Right. I stood on my toes and reached up to press my lips against his again.

I heard Ben give an annoying cough and I sighed. I couldn't wait to get home, then I could have my way with Edward. Against the wall. On the couch. On the floor. Geez, Bella. Get a grip on yourself!

"Let's go," Edward murmured into the crook of my neck, his fingers intertwining with mine.

"Okay," I replied immediately and Edward cocked an eyebrow in question which made me blush furiously. God, I was being so obvious tonight. Ugh.

As we walked towards the gate, I suddenly realized that there were no footsteps following behind us. I tugged on Edward's hand, forcing him to stop.

"Wait, where's the rest of them? Charlie, Ang and Ben said that they were going to celebrate with us, remember?" I reminded him.

"Um," Edward stuttered out, fidgeting nervously, raking his hair with his fingers. "Well, we're going somewhere else first. Then we'll meet them at the restaurant if um, well…" he trailed off, staring at the ground like there was a code on the ground for his to decipher.

I touched his cheek and his eyes met mine. What I wasn't expecting was that there was some kind of fire there.

"Bella, please," Edward said, eying me anxiously.

"Okay," I said, still baffled, but I trusted him. Edward tightened his hand over mine and led us to his Volvo. As he closed the door on me, he dialled a number and began muttering quickly into his phone. What the fuck was going on? I couldn't hear anything he was saying clearly because the door was closed. I breathed in deeply and tried to ignore the tingling sensation I had whenever I was getting annoyed. I figured that wherever we were going, it wasn't going to require a graduation gown so I shrugged out of the black cloak and waited.

Eventually, he finished his conversation and put his phone back in his pocket in his pants. Edward slipped into the seat next to me and ignored my questioning stare, and instead, distracted me by placing a chaste kiss on my lips before starting the engine.

It was dark but I could see the outline of the buildings that were quickly disappearing. Where the hell were we going? I couldn't help but eye Edward's leg, which was bouncing up and down nervously. He was one who rarely fidgeted. He never did, in fact. What the fuck is he planning to do?

"What the fuck is up with you?" I finally asked, as warmly as I could.

"Nothing, Bella," he answered quickly. Too quickly.

I raised my eyebrows. He couldn't look at me while driving but I was sure he could feel my silent question.

Edward sighed heavily and let out a deep breath. "It's a surprise."

My stomach unclenched and I let out a relieved sigh. Thank God. At least he wasn't sick with some terminating illness or something.

"Okay," I smiled at him encouragingly. "A surprise. I'll shut up now."

Edward sneaked a glance in my direction and gave me a small smile.

"Will you close your eyes, Bella?" he asked me tentatively. "Please?"

I nodded reluctantly. Damn him and his irresistible soft voice. He knew I was putty in his hands whenever he pulled out that weapon. "Okay, my eyes are closed."

After a few minutes he finally stopped the car. I heard Edward get out of the car, but then I felt him slip one of his arms under my knees and another arm around my back. I wanted to protest as he started to lift me out of the car but I decided that this was part of the surprise.

It was a warm night in Washington. Kind of surprising for this time of the year. I could hear the sound of water crashing and I wondered if Edward took me to the beach.

"Edward, what the – ," I began to ask.

"Bella, you said you would trust me on this," he reminded me softly, "It's hard to walk around here, especially at night so I'm just helping you."

He carried me in silence for a few more minutes, until I decided that, by the sound of the waves clashing, we were at a beach.

"You can open your eyes again, Bella," Edward murmured, placing me on my feet in the soft sand.

I opened my eyes and looked at Edward questioningly. "Edward, what…"

He let out a nervous laugh and raked his hair with his fingers again. "Um, surprise," he said, looking at me anxiously.

I stayed silent. Was I supposed to say something? "I am…surprised," I said slowly.

Edward finally let out a deep breath and said shakily, "I love you, Bella. You know that, right?"

I smiled and assured him, "I love you, too, Edward. Forever."

He smiled at me nervously and held my hand in his, leading me towards the water. I didn't notice anything until I saw a big…no, huge sandcastle just meters before the ocean met the sand. Edward and I walked in silence until we reached it. I looked at it curiously. Wow, whoever built this must've spent a lot of time here, making sure the walls of the large extravagant-looking tower was smooth. There was also a lot of fancy detail, like little columns and…wait. I thought hard for a few seconds. I have seen something like this before. Wait – this was just like...but it was impossible, right?

"Edward?" I turned around to ask and gasped as I saw Edward kneeling in front of me, holding a box cushioning a beautiful ring, shining under the moonlight.

"Nineteen years ago, we were playing here on the beach and you were so excited when you found a sandcastle on the beach. You wanted to be the princess of the castle and wished for me to be the prince," he swallowed and continued with a deep breath. "I took your friendship for granted then and I wish I would've said yes. But I'm ready now."

Tears were forming in my eyes and quickly brushed them away, not wanting to ruin this moment.

"I love you," he said gruffly. "I will love you forever, and I want you to be mine in every way that matters because I've been yours since the day on the cruise, when you said yes to me when I asked you to be my girlfriend."

He took another deep breath and looked up at me, love and adoration shining in his eyes. His chin lowered and he asked, "Bella, will you marry me?"

"Oh, God…" I gasped. This amazing, sweet beautiful man just asked me to marry him. I pressed my hand to my chest, trying to slow my heart down.

"Bella?" he asked, concerned.

"Edward…oh God, yes, Edward! Yes."

Edward's eyebrows shot up. "Yes?"

Oh, you silly man, like you actually doubted I would answer otherwise.

"Yes!" I launched myself at him, closing the distance separating us and threw my arms around his neck. Edward laughed out loud, lighter than I have ever heard. His arms wrapped around me protectively and pulled us to our feet.

"I love you so much, Edward Cullen. I always have and always will. You never have to doubt me. I'll say yes every time. I can't imagine living a second of my life without you," I said through my tears, which was creating a lump in my throat.

"You've just made me the happiest man in the world, Bella. All I want to do is to try making you happy for the rest of my life."

My heart melted. "You have already made me so happy, Edward."

Edward loosened his hold on me and pulled a ring out of the box. It was beautiful, a filigree in the pattern of ivy, which held a modest diamond in the centre. I already adored it.

"It was Grandma Cullen's. My dad gave it to me a few years ago and I knew it was the perfect ring. It reminded me so much of you. His voice grew uncertain, "If you prefer another…" he trailed off.

"I want it." I told him. "It's so beautiful, Edward."

I tried to stop crying as he slid the ring onto my finger.

"My wife," he said softly, looking at me with awe.

I leaned up on my toes and kissed him, his lips soft against mine. When I pulled back, his face was full of emotion.

In spite of the perfect moment, I couldn't help but feel the spark of heat between us. I suddenly couldn't wait to get home to celebrate. Really celebrate. I leaned up again and whispered in his ear, "Maybe you should take me home and celebrate, husband."

Edward groaned and closed his eyes. When he opened them, they were dark, filled with lust and such a fire that I felt my face heat up and my heart start beating faster again.

He smirked at my reaction and leaned down, his lips near mine, making me whimper. "Let's get the hell out of here, Mrs Cullen. And when we get home, I'm going to make you scream out 'yes' more times than we both can count."

"Edward," I moaned. The tingling sensation between my thighs was starting to get intense. I needed him and I needed him now.

We ran up towards the car in record time and for the first time, I didn't complain how fast Edward drove.

We sped towards home, our plans with our family quickly forgotten.

There was only one thing in my mind now.

So there you have it! Does the title make sense now? Not too cheesy? Hope so :) There will be an outtake coming soon. I know I haven't updated in like, forever, but hopefully I'll get some reviews.

And yes, the outtake will be straight up following the epilogue. Oh, imagine the possibilities *evil smile*